


The Other Kingdom's Plan to Kill the Demon Lord is Likely Just Propaganda, so I Visit the Village to Get Some Real Intel!

by KivaEmber



Series: How I Married A Demon Lord [2]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternative Universe - Isekai, Crack Treated Seriously, Humor, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:14:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26976421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KivaEmber/pseuds/KivaEmber
Summary: Akira thought back to Goro of this morning: dark horns jutting through the brim of his sunhat, squatting in front of his rosebush with a pair of trimming pliers clenched in a hand clad in the protective casing of a gardening glove. The only raid Goro had been planning then was on the weeds infiltrating his flower beds.or;Akira, a normal university student, is summoned by an Evil Overlord in another world to help him conquer the world. At least, that's what the 'Evil Overlord' and all the terrible rumours about himsay. It turns out this is, in fact, a big fat lie.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Series: How I Married A Demon Lord [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1967008
Comments: 28
Kudos: 385





	The Other Kingdom's Plan to Kill the Demon Lord is Likely Just Propaganda, so I Visit the Village to Get Some Real Intel!

**Author's Note:**

> Please start the series from part one: 'The Demon Lord is Very Cute When He Doesn't Plan The World's Doom' to understand what the hell is going on

So, Goro was the victim of a smear campaign. 

It was a conclusion that took Akira exactly three days to come to. Three, because the first day was spent in a daze of horrified realisation and bewildered confusion as Goro fed him the summary of this world’s history- 

(a ten hour lecture that could have easily been summed up as: Metaversa is a hot mess that decided to scapegoat Goro for most of their problems)

-and also getting a wardrobe that _wasn’t_ overtly evil. In fact, the first day was pretty fun once Akira resigned himself to his new, fantastical situation. Morgana, aside from being absolutely adorable and charming, was also a skilled tailor! Who would’ve thought those tiny paws could be so nimble with a sewing machine?

(And that was another thing, the _anachronism!_ There was no indoor lighting but they had sewing machines, indoor plumbing, biro pens and, strangely, the magical equivalent of a phone system? What the hell was going on with their technological progress?)

The second day was spent getting the lay of the land. That is, spent familiarising himself with Goro’s home. It was not, what he initially assumed, an evil fortress of doom, but was more like a modest little manor embedded halfway into a mountain, tucked away deep in a haunted forest. It had a very pretty garden with well-tended flowers and shrubbery, and also a ramshackle Kobold village being partially built just beyond the manor walls. 

So, this was the other thing Akira learned: because this world’s history was all kinds of fucked up, Kobolds (aka ‘Beastmen’) were not viewed kindly by the humans of this world. In fact, it was a relatively new thing (around the same time the smear campaign was whipped up against Goro), the Kobolds and other Beastmen being pressured to leave the urban centres and then, finally, the more rural settlements, until they eventually ended up in Goro’s haunted forest and set up shop there. 

The other cities took this as evidence that Goro was amassing an army of evil beastmen. It turned out Goro wasn’t heartless enough to send these Kobolds on their way and just irritably tolerated their presence. 

The second day was _very_ informative. 

So, then came the third day, which helped conclude Akira’s findings: _investigative journalism._

“This is a bad idea,” Morgana warned him, tucked close against his shoulder in cat form as Akira boldly strode up the dirt path towards his destination. 

A village sat only a few miles from Goro’s haunted forest (a journey thankfully cut down by Morgana’s teleportation skills, though the Cait Sith warned him he only had ‘three charges a day’, whatever that meant), a bustling hub for adventurers, merchants and hunters who all warily eyed the haunted forest, waiting for this infamous Kobold army to come bursting from the trees and raze their homes to the ground. 

Akira thought it was a brilliant place to gather more information. It also helped that Goro told him, in no uncertain terms, that he was not to set foot anywhere near it: so Akira was going to stomp through every inch of it just to spite him. 

“It’ll be fine,” Akira assured his friend, “I’m not going to walk in there yelling that I’m Goro’s partner-in-crime or whatever.” 

“Master Loki is going to be so angry!” Morgana hissed at him. 

“He’s always angry,” Akira dismissed, “Or grumpy. I think he’s stressed. We should get him a gift to help him chill out.”

Morgana let his doubtful silence speak for him. 

Akira ignored him, adjusting his gloves. While he was very attached to his ‘Women Want Me, Fish Fear Me’ shirt, it didn’t fit with the overall aesthetics of this world, and if he wanted to blend in as an adventurer passing through, he needed to adhere to the fashion of the age. Which was, actually, quite swanky! 

He was dressed in a long, dark coat, a ribbed shirt underneath, and heeled thigh boots that made a satisfying _click_ with every step. Because Morgana was very good at colour coordinating as well, the outfit was topped off with sleek crimson gloves, though Akira, unused to them, found himself fidgeting with them often. 

Morgana assured him he looked like a proper adventurer. Akira wondered what adventurers got up to, since this outfit was not designed to protect against weapons, the elements, or monsters. Was it all just a fashion show for these guys?

(The short answer was: yes. ‘Fashion is the most important stat’, as many an adventurer would say)

The village slowly came into view as Akira took the dirt path up a small knoll. It wasn’t very large, resting in a natural dip of the landscape with a thin river snaking through the middle of it. It had wooden walls, and two gates, a front and rear entrance, Akira assumed, and as he confidently approached the village, he noted that it was guarded by one solitary man with a crossbow. 

Akira normally would be nervous approaching an armed guard, but, well, this guard a knobbly stick of an old man with what Akira suspected to be extreme short-sightedness, considering how severely he was squinting his way. Akira wasn’t sure on how to feel that the security of this village rested in this man’s gnarled, half-blind hands (who trusted him with a crossbow!?). 

“Whozzat?” the old man demanded in a slurred drawl when Akira came to a very loud stop in front of him, even stomping his boots a few times to help the guard zero in on his exact location, though his crossbow was aimed a full two feet to Akira’s left, “You a Kobold?”

“Uh, no,” Akira said, “I’m an adventurer.”

“Oh, okay,” the old man’s hostility instantly evaporated, and he gestured eagerly at the open gates, “In you go then, son.”

“...uh,” Akira said, a bit put out that he didn’t get a chance to belt out the fabricated backstory he spent the walk over here concocting. Lame, “Thanks?”

“Anytime, son! You watch out for ‘em Kobolds!”

“Sure,” Akira said, walking past him and into the village proper. It was a congregation of ye olde fantasy houses huddled in some semblance of order - Akira identified where the inn was right away, as it was right next to the gate with a giant sign erected almost directly in his path. 

The sign said _“TIRED? HUNGRY? COME ON IN TO THE FABLED DEMON LORD’S INN! WITHIN INVASION DISTANCE OF THIS CITY STATE’S EVIL OVERLORD!”_

“Ummm…” Akira began, “Morgana, these people are weird.”

Morgana made a small noise of disgust in his ear, the Cait Sith glowering at the sign like it had personally offended him, “Hmph! Profiting off Master Loki while villanising him! How rude!”

Akira scratched his head, considering his options. The inn was probably the best place to get information, especially if it advertised itself on Goro’s proximity. But he realised then that despite enduring Goro’s ten hour lecture on the history of this continent, he retained about 1% of it and wasn’t sure how well he could bluff his way through a conversation without someone calling him out on his ignorance. 

“Excuse me?”

Morgana flinched on his shoulder, but Akira turned towards the source of the voice with a smile, hoping he hadn’t attracted suspicion _already_ , “Yeah?”

A young woman strode up to him. She was a little shorter than himself, and decked out in black, leather armour, her gloves studded with metal spikes. Her hair was dark brown and her eyes were a duller shade of red than Goro’s, her face set in a no-nonsense, severe frown that instantly had Akira feeling guilty even though he hadn’t committed any crimes (yet). 

“I saw you just enter the village,” Biker Woman said, “Am I correct in assuming you’re a traveler who came from the haunted forest?”

“Uh, yeah?” Akira tried not to sweat. He willed his pores to desiccate, hoping he didn’t look as nervous as he suddenly felt. C’mon, he had been here for less than _two minutes_ , “I mean, I didn’t come _from_ the forest, I walked past it. Around it.”

Morgana dug his claws into his shoulder, a silent command to _stop talking._

Biker Woman nodded, “I understand. You must have come from Shiba Way?”

“Uh,” Morgana subtly patted his shoulder once, “Yes.”

“That’s a dangerous route to travel nowadays,” Biker Woman probed, her eyes narrowing a fraction, “The high amount of Kobolds in the area mean the road is not as safe as it used to be, and barely anyone travels through it unmolested.”

 _‘Are you a cop’,_ Akira barely stopped himself from saying, “Is that so? It was a peaceful journey for me.” 

“Hmm,” Biker Woman said, scrutinising him closely. 

“Hmm,” Akira said back. 

They stared at each other for a long, awkward moment. 

“So,” he said when it finally got too much for him, “I’m Akira. You?”

“Oh- _oh,”_ Biker Woman jolted, flushing bright red when she realised she hadn’t even introduced herself before her impromptu interrogation, “My apologies, I’m, uh, Queen. Makoto.”

“Queen Makoto?” Akira repeated in confusion, feeling Morgana practically vibrate against his shoulder. He hoped his friend wasn’t having a heart attack back there. 

“No! No, I mean, I’m known as Queen, but my name is Makoto,” the woman clarified, briefly lifting a hand to rub her forehead, “Sorry, it’s been a long day for me. I’m new around these parts and I’m trying to learn more about this Evil Overlord…”

 _oh ho,_ Akira’s journalistic instincts purred, “Oh, this uh, what’s his name, ‘Scourge of the Land, Loki’, or whatever?”

“Yes,” Makoto settled a hand on her hip, “From what I was told, he’s an awful tyrant that terrorises the land, cursing crops to fail, kidnaps pure maidens, is amassing an army of vicious beastmen to launch raids on the frontier towns…”

Akira thought back to Goro of this morning: dark horns jutting through the brim of his sunhat, squatting in front of his rosebush with a pair of trimming pliers clenched in a hand clad in the protective casing of a gardening glove. The only raid Goro had been planning then was on the weeds infiltrating his flower beds.

“He sounds like a real bad guy,” Akira said straight-faced. 

“Yes, he _sounds_ like a bad guy,” Makoto frowned, “Yet, despite all these stories and supposed witness accounts, I haven’t seen any solid evidence of any wrongdoing. I’m beginning to wonder if this ‘Evil Overlord’ even exists.”

Well, this was interesting. “What, you think he was made up as some kind of bogeyman?”

“I don’t know…” Makoto chewed her bottom lip for a moment before shaking her head, “Maybe I’m not looking in the right place, or asking the right questions. Your journey was peaceful near the woods, you said?”

“Yeah, wasn’t harassed at all,” Akira said, leaving out that that was due to the fact that Morgana teleported him from Goro’s front doorstep to less than a kilometre outside the village. 

“Then I should investigate and see for myself,” Makoto said firmly, giving him a sharp nod, “Thank you for your assistance, Akira.”

“Happy to help,” Akira said cheerfully, and watched the strange woman leave the village through the gate, “What a weird person.”

“ _Akira!”_ Morgana hissed directly into his ear, “Do you know who that was?!”

“Makoto?” Akira answered, injecting enough innocent confusion into his voice to sound like a little shit. 

“That was _Queen,_ one of the otherworldly heroes!” Morgana half-yowled, “She’s a dangerous enemy - and really strong! She can punch the head off a dragon with a single blow!”

“Wow,” Akira said, not believing that for a second, “Well, it sounds like she’s trying to figure out if Goro even exists first, so she’s nothing to worry about right now.” 

“Hrm. I guess so. Though, Akira, you’re awfully good at sweet-talking people,” Morgana said, “Queen didn’t seem that suspicious of you at all, even when you lied straight to her face.”

“I just have that kinda air about me,” Akira said dismissively. In university, he had become something of a ‘therapist’ friend just because he was so good at listening and nodding at all of the right parts. It meant he had many dark secrets and illicit gossip held in reserve for whenever he needed favours cashed in. 

“People find it easy to trust me,” he added, moving away from the sign and towards the inn, “So they tell me their secrets or relax their guard.”

“That’s a useful skill for a villain to have,” Morgana said agreeably, “Especially when gathering information!” 

“Mhm,” Akira said, getting a little ego boost from that. Yeah, it was a useful skill, and if he fooled one of the ‘otherworldly heroes’ so easily, he could charm his way through an inn full of locals. 

So, hitching up one of his most charming smiles, running a hand through his hair to stylishly ruffle it, Akira strode into the inn and commenced his investigative journalism. 

* * *

It was this that solidified his suspicion that Goro was a victim of a smear campaign. 

Akira walked leisurely down the narrow, winding footpath through the haunted woods, Morgana snoozing away on his shoulders, exhausted from teleporting them back here (and because Akira kept feeding him fish at the inn). He was frowning over the notes he made in his notebook, idly tapping his pen against the crisp paper as he mulled over what he had learned. 

He had initially suspected Goro was feeding him a heavily biased and one-sided story on his situation, being an evil overlord and all, so Akira went to get the other side of the story, like any self-respecting journalist would do. But the other side was… 

_‘He caused a drought last year that ruined half of our crops!’_

_‘He cursed our livestock with a mysterious sickness and we lost almost all of our milking cattle to it!’_

_‘He summoned a storm that battered the capitol and caused flash floods!’_

_‘He vandalised our church with lewd graffiti!’_

_‘He has a harem of beautiful women that dote on him day and night, the lucky bastard!’_

_‘He poisoned our water supply! Well, not yet- but are we going to wait until he does?!’_

_‘He turned me into a newt! What? I got better!’_

“There’s no _evidence!”_ Akira groaned, massaging his forehead, understanding Makoto’s exasperation now, “This is all- rumours and hearsay!”

But it was being pushed by someone! Someone long ago, who had established Goro as an acceptable scapegoat for all of Metaversa’s wrongs. It didn’t matter what happened, what trivial nuisance or catastrophic disaster, Goro was behind it somehow, someway, using his mysterious demon lord powers to cause it, somehow. He could apparently clone himself and teleport to all four corners of the continent too, as several of these incidents happened _simultaneously_!

“Lies and slander,” Akira muttered, feeling indignant on Goro’s behalf. 

Sadly, to the rest of the continent, it was the absolute truth. The recent surge of anti-Beastmen sentiment hadn’t helped matters either, as the displaced people ran to the shelter of the ‘big scary overlord’ and unintentionally fed the rumour mill that Goro was now amassing an army! Akira guessed that was what kick-started the other city states to mobilise their ‘otherworldly heroes’ against him. 

“Because in their eyes, he’s turned from a harmless scapegoat into a potential threat,” Akira said to himself, “If they think he’s had enough of being unfairly blamed for their troubles…”

‘Revenge’, Goro had snarled at him, when pressed why he wanted to destroy the ‘Order of Heroes’ who had declared war on him. So, maybe they were right. Maybe Goro had finally snapped and was determined to put an end to this one way or another. If they think he’s an evil overlord, then _fine,_ he’ll play evil overlord! 

And so, he summoned his equal in villainy… _oh._

“Oh… oh ho _ho_!” Akira chuckled under his breath, a few pieces clicking into place, “His equal in villainy, when he isn’t even a villain! No wonder he got me instead.”

Akira couldn’t cast magic or fight people - hell, he wasn’t exactly fit, considering he was winded and out of breath after running less than a hundred metres - but what he _was_ good at was people. Talking to people, getting them to trust him, sniffing out truth and mysteries and having an eye for scandal. He was a journalist through and through, and what Goro needed _wasn’t_ an evil general helping him to physically destroy his enemies. No, what he _needed_ was a stubborn reporter reversing the damage done to his good name, and revealing the _real_ culprits of the crimes Goro was unfairly accused of. 

In short: just another Tuesday for Akira Kurusu. 

* * *

_“Where have you been?”_

“Hey, Goro!” Akira said cheerfully, not even bothering to hide his smile at the fuming demon lord waiting for him at the manor gates. Goro was still dressed in his gardening attire, cute sunhat and all, “Did you finish pruning your rose bushes?”

“Don’t dodge the question!” Goro snapped, his gaze shifting to Morgana who was trying to blend into Akira’s shoulder and pass notice, “Morgana, I thought I told you to keep him away from the human settlements and their _poisonous_ way of thinking.”

“Uh, I told him, but…” Morgana mumbled. 

“Don’t scold, Mona,” Akira chided, “Besides, I’m your equal, aren’t I? That means I can go wherever I want, right?”

Goro looked like he very much wanted to stab Akira with his gardening pliers. 

“Those humans are dangerous,” the demon lord finally said, jabbing a gloved finger at Akira’s chest, “They’re irrational and cruel, and could have easily captured you upon learning of your allegiance to me! I wouldn’t have known until I heard the tale of how I brainwashed some poor adventurer and sent them to subvert their hideous hovels, or some tripe like that!”

That probably could have happened, thinking about it, but Akira had a feeling that wasn’t Goro’s main fear.

“You weren’t worried about that. You were worried they’d turn me against you,” Akira countered, “Well, they didn’t. In fact, they made me even _more_ determined to help you.” 

Goro stared at him. He looked confused. 

“I- what?” the demon lord said. 

“You’re an unfortunate victim of a smear campaign,” Akira said, his expression turning serious, “Someone out there is so determined to turn you into some all-powerful evil scapegoat that it’s _laughably_ obvious to someone like me, but to everyone else it sounds plausible. Probably because of the, um, _very gothic_ looking manor in the middle of a haunted forest, and the, you know, glowing red eyes and horns that sort of make you look, um-”

“They make me look like a monster,” Goro said miserably, his head bowing enough that the brim of his sunhat hid his face. 

Akira felt his heart crack, just a little bit. 

“They make you look… intimidating,” he said diplomatically, rubbing the back of his neck. Goro didn’t lift his head, “But- that’s just because they don’t know you! Maybe you should keep wearing the sunhat? It softens your rough edges by a lot.” 

Goro fidgeted with the brim of his sunhat, lifting his head enough for Akira to see him frown thoughtfully, “Hm…” 

“Look, I have a plan,” Akira said, “It’s a very good plan, because it means neither of us will have to fight.”

“I want to fight,” Goro grumbled, “I have a lot of pent up aggression.” 

“We will vent that in healthy ways,” Akira said, “Beating up the otherworldly heroes will just cement people’s view of you being a bad guy. What we need to do is show that you’re _not_ a bad guy, and we’ll do that in the only way I know how.” 

Akira drew himself up dramatically. Goro eyed him warily. 

“ _High-quality journalism!”_ Akira proudly declared. 

Silence descended for one long, taut moment. 

“Journa-what?” Morgana asked, breaking the silence with all the grace of a boot to the face. 

“Journa-lism?” Goro repeated slowly, “Is that some form of mind control or-”

God, did they not have proper journalism in this world? No wonder misinformation was so rife here, “No! Well, sort of, it depends how you- no, listen,” Akira rubbed his forehead, “I’ll tell the truth about you, and convince people of it. And the only way to do that is to find out the _real_ culprits of the crimes you’re being accused of, and expose them.”

Goro mulled over this, crossing his arms and nodding to himself slowly. 

“I see…” he murmured, “So, we find those who are falsely accusing me and _punish_ them?”

“By exposing them to court of public opinion, yes,” Akira said, knowing from experience that this was a punishment worse than death in some cases, “You’ll be cleared of any wrongdoing, and people will start leaving you alone. Or, at least, will stop gathering an ‘Order of Heroes’ to storm your home and stab you, or whatever.” 

“Hmmm…” Goro tapped his foot thoughtfully, and then nodded, “Very well. I agree with this plan.”

Akira allowed himself to feel smug for a quick moment. 

“So, how will you go about this ‘ _journalism’_?” Goro asked, “Where do we start?”

Akira stopped feeling smug. 

“Good question,” he muttered, fiddling with his fringe in thought, “First of all, we need to figure out where these rumours started. When did they start?”

“About a decade ago,” Goro said after a short pause, “It began with minor, inconsequential accusations that grew in severity as the years went by. They originated within the Shido Kingdom, and spread throughout Metaversa from there.” 

“So, someone very influential within Shido started it,” Akira mused, “That’s where we’ll need to start our investigation, then.”

“Hold on, we can’t just go charging into Shido,” Morgana said quickly, “It’s impossible to sneak into, and it’s really hard to gain legitimate entry too. Only high-ranking adventurers can buy their way in there, or super rich merchants!”

“Are you rich enough for me to pretend to be a merchant, Goro?” Akira asked.

Goro’s answer was to stare at him in clear disbelief. 

“...oh, right,” Akira looked about himself, at the gothic but clearly bought on a budget manor behind the demon lord, and the very humble garden barely large enough to hold about twenty people, “Yeah, dumb question.”

“We’ll need to make a lot of money,” Morgana sighed, “Or you’ll need to become a _real_ adventurer and climb the ranks.”

They stood in silence for a moment, mulling over their predicament. 

“Let us start small,” Goro finally said, “There was a recent rumour about me that has circulated in a nearby town. It was something about youths being coerced to extort money from each other and send them in offering to myself. Unfortunately, I have not seen a single coin of these supposed offerings, so most likely there is someone doing it in my name.” 

“Oh, that’s perfect,” Akira said, “We can easily debunk that.”

“Coincidentally, that town has an Adventurer Guild,” Goro said ‘Adventurer Guild’ with the same disgust reserved for stepping into a cold puddle in just your socks, “You may register yourself as an adventurer there, and solve this extortion mystery to build up your reputation.”

“Goro, you’re a genius,” Akira breathed, smiling when Goro looked bashfully pleased at the praise, “That’s a fantastic idea. I’ll gain ranks _and_ clear your name at the same time.” 

“I’ll help too!” Morgana said quickly, “You said you don’t know how to fight, so leave that business to me! You just do your _journalism_ stuff.”

“Sounds good,” Akira said, not at all interested in putting himself in harm’s way, “What about you, Goro? Are you coming with?”

Goro scoffed, “ _Obviously._ We’re meant to be villainous equals, aren’t we? I can disguise myself and ensure you don’t bite off more than you can chew.” 

“Great. Then it’s an adventure,” Akira said, feeling a little excited despite himself. 

“Yes,” Goro said, and he was giving Akira a strange look, something uncertain yet hopeful in his eyes, “An adventure.” 

Thus, on the fourth day, their little party of three: a Demon Lord, a Cait Sith servant, and an ordinary human journalist, set forth on their adventure to clear the Evil Overlord’s name

**Author's Note:**

> it turns out this thing actually has a plot. huh.


End file.
